Donkey Kong is an arcade game that was Nintendo's first big hit in North America. It marked the beginning of the Mario franchise, and introduced several of the earliest characters, including Mario himself (originally known as "Jumpman"[7], a carpenter rather than a plumber), the original Donkey Kong (who, in later games, would become Cranky Kong, the current Donkey Kong's grandfather[8]), and Pauline (originally known as the Lady), who now frequently appears in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. A version of the game was also created later for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo's first home console, under Arcade Classics Series. The game sold very well in the United States, becoming one of four games to be inducted into the Nintendo Hall of Fame. The original arcade version had four screen levels, but the Nintendo Entertainment System version only has three, with the stage 50m cut from this version. This game was also the first title to be released on Virtual Console. Donkey Kong was the second platformer ever made; the 1980 game Space Panic was the first.

Donkey Kong has kidnapped the beautiful Lady (Pauline in the NES conversion) to a dangerous construction site. Jumpman (Mario in home ports and promotional materials) must climb to the top of the construction site and rescue the Lady from the giant ape.

"HELP! HELP!" cries the beautiful maiden as she is dragged up a labyrinth of structural beams by the ominous Donkey Kong. "SNORT. SNORT." Foreboding music warns of the eventual doom that awaits the poor girl, lest she somehow be miraculously rescued. "But wait! Fear not, fair maiden. Little Mario, the carpenter, is in hot pursuit of you this very moment."

Throwing fate to the wind, risking life and limb, or worse, little Mario tries desperately to climb the mighty fortress of steel, to save the lovely lady from the evil Mr. Kong. Little Mario must dodge all manner of obstacles- fireballs, plummeting beams and a barrage of exploding barrels fired at him by Donkey Kong. Amidst the beautiful girl's constant pleas for help, your challenge is to maneuver little Mario up the steel structure, while helping him to avoid the rapid-fire succession of hazards that come his way.

As little Mario gallantly battles his way up the barriers, he is taunted and teased by Donkey Kong, who brazenly struts back and forth, beating his chest in joyful exuberance at the prospect of having the beautiful girl all to himself. It is your job to get little Mario to the top. For it is there, and only there, that he can send the mighty Donkey Kong to his mortal doom. Leaving Little Mario and the beautiful girl to live happily ever after. "SIGH. SIGH."

So, if you want the most exciting, most fun-filled, most talked about family video game on the market, don't monkey around with anything but the original Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong stars Mario (referred to as "Jumpman") attempting to reach the top of a construction site where the Lady is held captive. In the process, Donkey Kong will throw barrels and other obstacles to stop Mario from reaching him. This can include Barrels, Jacks, or other things. Mario has the ability to jump over these obstacles, or obliterate them using a Hammer. Each time Mario reaches Pauline, however, Donkey Kong will carry Pauline away to the next level.

The main antagonist, Donkey Kong appears in every level at the end of each stage, throwing obstacles at Mario or guarding Pauline. This particular Donkey Kong is later revealed to be a younger Cranky Kong.

Barrels are thrown by Donkey Kong throughout 25M. Mario can easily jump over these barrels, or destroy them with a Hammer. Certain barrels appear to be blue, which will spawn a Fire if they reach the Oil Drum at the beginning of the stage.

Sentient flames that follow Mario, even climbing up ladders. They spawn from Oil Drums located amongst each stage, and can easily be defeated with a Hammer. Larger versions that are harder to jump over also make an appearance in 100m

Hammers can defeat all enemies in the game. As soon as Mario grabs a hammer, he starts swinging the hammer back and forth repeatedly, and strikes anything in his path. While holding the hammer, Mario cannot jump. After a certain time, the hammer disappears and cannot be used again.

Although the game is intended to be playable indefinitely by not having a level cap, it is impossible to complete the first screen of level 22, due to a glitch within the process of calculating the time limit. Said time limit is calculated using the formula (10 × level number) + 40 and shown in hundreds as a bonus counter in the top right edge of the screen. Because the calculated value is stored as an 8-Bit integer, which can only save 256 different values ranging from 0 to 255, and the formula results in a value of 260 for level 22, an integer overflow occurs and the value is saved modulo 256, which means 260 is saved as 4. This leads to a starting value of 400 for the timer of level 22, so that Jumpman dies a few seconds after starting the level, being unable to finish it.[9]

Donkey Kong was created when Shigeru Miyamoto, under the supervision of the late Gunpei Yokoi, was assigned by Nintendo to convert Radar Scope, a poorly selling arcade game in North America, into a game that would have more appeal to more gamers. Shigeru Miyamoto later admitted that he did not focus on the story of the game, instead creating a basic plot with colourful characters and music that he himself penned[10]. He said that Jumpman (later to be renamed Mario) and the Lady were not intended to have a relationship, and he did not know where the connection idea came from, but he thought that it did not matter much. Regardless, the resulting game was a major breakthrough for Nintendo and for the video game industry, becoming one of the best selling arcade machines of its time. Its platforming gameplay also distinguished it from most other arcade games at the time.

Donkey Kong was stated to be Jumpman's pet, who escaped his cage and kidnapped Jumpman's girlfriend, Lady. Jumpman was also designed to look around 24 or 26 years of age.[11]

Donkey Kong was originally conceived as a Popeye game, with Bluto being in the spot of Donkey Kong, Popeye being Jumpman/Mario, and Olive Oyl being Lady/Pauline. The game ended up being changed due to Nintendo being unable to secure the license for Popeye at the time. Nintendo would later secure a license, making the Popeye arcade game a year later in 1982.[12]

In 1982, around a year after the game's release, Universal Studios sued Nintendo, claiming that Donkey Kong infringed on Universal Studios' intellectual property rights to the film King Kong. Howard Lincoln, attorney and future president of Nintendo of America, decided to fight the case and hired seasoned attorney John Kirby to represent Nintendo. When Kirby showed that not only was Nintendo not in violation of any copyrights, but also that Universal Studios themselves had sued RKO Pictures in 1975 to prove that the plot of King Kong was in fact in the public domain, Judge Robert W. Sweet ruled in Nintendo's favor, ordering Universal to pay Nintendo $1.8 million in legal fees. In an ironic twist, Judge Sweet also ruled that Tiger's King Kong video game, licensed by Universal, infringed on Donkey Kong. After the victory, Nintendo awarded John Kirby with a $30,000 sailboat, christened the Donkey Kong, and gave him "exclusive worldwide rights to use the name for sailboats."[13]

As Nintendo's newly established video game division lacked programming manpower, the arcade version of Donkey Kong was programmed by Ikegami Tsushinki, a contractor that had worked for Nintendo for several of its arcade releases[2][3]. For Donkey Kong's development, the two companies signed a contract which gave Ikegami Tsushinki exclusive rights to the manufacturing of Donkey Kong arcade boards[2][3].

In 1983, Ikegami Tsushinki sued Nintendo on the ground that the company had violated the contract and produced around 80,000 arcade boards on its own[2][3]. Ikegami Tsushinki also sought compensation for the use of reverse-engineered Donkey Kong code in Donkey Kong Jr.[2][3] and claimed it owned the copyright on Donkey Kong's code (while the contract did not specify ownership of the code, a judgment relating to Space Invaders Part II set a precedent establishing computer code can be copyrighted[3]). In response, Nintendo claimed it owned Donkey Kong's code as Ikegami was hired as a sub-contractor[2][3].

The case went to the Tokyo District Court until March 26, 1990, at which point the two companies settled out of court[2][3]. The lawsuit has often been stated to be the reason behind the lack of rereleases of the arcade version of Donkey Kong and the existence of Donkey Kong: Original Edition, although Donkey Kong 64 nevertheless features a full port of the arcade version, albeit with slight differences as it closely imitates the source code.

In 2007, a documentary film directed by Seth Gordon based off Donkey Kong was released. The film centers around high school teacher Steve Wiebe as he tries to achieve a world record for obtaining the highest score in the game, which is held by Billy Mitchell at the time.

Two different ports of Donkey Kong have appeared on Virtual Console. The first, released in 2006, is essentially a direct port of the NES version, while the second, entitled Donkey Kong Original Edition (ドンキーコング オリジナルエディション), attempted to adhere to the arcade version, and was pre-installed for the European release of the Mario 25th Anniversary limited edition red Wii in 2010. This version restored some missing animations and the level 50m, which was cut from the NES version, although Donkey Kong mistakenly stands still in this level, and while the port's graphics are an improvement to the NES port, it is still inferior to the true arcade version, which remains unavailable on Virtual Console. The latter port was made available on the Nintendo eShop in Japan when a Club Nintendo member purchased the download version of one of two games, one of which was New Super Mario Bros. 2[14], from July 28, 2012 to September 2, 2012.[15] A similar promotion took place in the US between October 1, 2012 and January 6, 2013, exclusively to members of Club Nintendo who have, within the aforementioned time frame, linked their systems to their Club Nintendo accounts and have purchased the downloadable version of one of five select 3DS titles (one of which was Paper Mario: Sticker Star). There are currently no plans for a wide release of this version in the U.S., although it was released in Europe for the 3DS eShop on September 18, 2014.

Although Ikegami Tsushinki is uncredited, a 1996 article published in Bit Magazine and written by one of the programmer involved, Hirohisa Komanome, reveals the name of the programmers who worked on the game[17].

English flavor text: Pauline's been kidnapped by Donkey Kong! She awaits your help at the top of the steel girders–can you rescue her from the ape's clutches?
+ Control Pad
Up & Down -Mario climbs the ladder
Left & Right -Mario runs
L Button + R Button
Resets game to Title Screen

SCORING
You can gain points by picking up Pauline's lost parasol and purse. It pays to be alert! You get an extra life if your score exceeds 20,000. Gain points by bonking a Barrel or Fireball with your Hammer. You also get points if you successfully jump a Barrel.

Bonus points are added to your score when you reach Pauline. But if you take too much time to reach her, these points will decrease. The sooner you finish the level, the better!

LEVEL TIPS
Level 1: Two Hammers are on this level. Each can be used only once. Find the right place, grab it, and use it to bonk Fireballs and Barrels!

Level 2: The Jacks come down on a set course, so they're easy to avoid. Wait in front of the position where the Jack will bounce. After it passes, its safe to move on.

Level 3: Undoing the bolts needs to be done quickly because the number of attacking Fireballs increases. The best way to proceed is to go from the lower left upward and then from the upper right downward.

Super Mario Bros. 2: Clawgrip tosses down rocks and beats his chest in a similar manner to Donkey Kong in this game. The remakes of this game also feature girders in the backgrounds of the indoor areas.

Donkey Kong (Game Boy): The four levels from the arcade version of this game are remade in this game. The Hammer and Pauline's dropped items also appear. The plot is also identical for the first four stages.

Donkey Kong Country: Cranky Kong is said to be an elder version of the Donkey Kong that appears in this game and its sequels. The intro of this game has Cranky using a phonograph and playing the title song from the NES version of this game, on a structure made of girders resembling the ones from 25m. The oil drums from Oil Drum Alley are the same as the ones in 25m.

Super Smash Bros.: The Hammer appears as an item in this game. Donkey Kong's red costume and Mario's blue costume in this game are based on their respective original sprites in Donkey Kong.

Mario Golf: One of Wario's alternate costumes is based on Jumpman's outfit.

The arcade machine found in the Frantic Factory.

Donkey Kong 64: A direct port of the arcade game is playable by accessing an arcade machine in Frantic Factory. The song that plays in Creepy Castle is also a remade version of the music that plays when Donkey Kong is climbing up the construction site with Pauline. A red girder which looks similar to those from 75m can also be seen inside DK's Treehouse.

Donkey Konga: When choosing to display in 50hz or 60hz, Mario's sprite acts as the cursor; Donkey Kong's sprite can be seen to the left.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga: If Mario jumps when the Border Bros tell Luigi to jump, one of them says, "give the jumpman thing a rest", a reference to Mario's original name for this game. Mario rescues Luigi at Woohoo Hooniversity by traversing a stage with rolling barrels. There is also a skeletal pirate named Bink who tosses barrels in the Barrel minigame.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: One of the badges in this game is the Jumpman Badge. In addition, if the player returns to the Glitz Pit and reaches first place again, one audience member says, "JUMPMAN!!! Wait, who?"

Mario Power Tennis: The music that plays when Donkey Kong wins a trophy is the title theme from this game.

Mario Party 7: One of the DK minigames is called "Jump, Man", and requires navigating up a series of ramps and vines over a series of falling barrels. Toadsworth even notes the similarity to the gameplay of Donkey Kong.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl: 75m appears as a stage in this game. The title theme appears as a cover version in this game, and the 25m theme also appears in its original format. A demo of this game is also available as a Masterpiece. Mario's down taunt, in which he spins around in midair and falls on his back, is a reference to his dying animation in this game. Also, one of Wario's costumes is based on Mario's outfit from his first appearance. Pauline appears as a trophy.

Super Mario Odyssey: The Jumpman suit appears as the Classic Suit for Mario. Red girders appear in the Metro Kingdom (which is a reference to the Donkey Kong series) and are in a few parts of the city. Many of the billboards use art from the arcade cabinet, and Pauline and Donkey Kong's original designs appear as graffiti art on a building as well. The license plates for the taxi cabs also read "1981-ND", a reference to the year Donkey Kong released. In an 8-bit segment using sprites from Donkey Kong in the Metro Kingdom, Mario must climb girders while avoiding barrels. Oil Drums also appear, along with coins spelling out "DK".[18] The music for 25m can be heard in "Jump Up, Super Star!", as well as during the ending cutscene variation of "Break Free (Lead the Way)". Also, the sound effect that plays when Mario jumps over a barrel can be heard in the aforementioned riff.

The twenty-second board is the final level of the game; Jumpman instantly dies within eight seconds of playing in the level, regardless of how many lives the player has left. This bug, known as a kill screen, happens due to a programming oversight in which the game does not have enough memory to continue. Games such as Pac-Man and Duck Hunt also have kill screens.

Even though Jumpman wears his signature red and blue clothing in the game, he wears blue and white clothing on the box art for the NES port.

Nintendo Power distributed an original Donkey Kong arcade cabinet as the grand prize for the Classic NES Series sweepstakes.